James Whitehead / SPP
Brisbane Stadium erupted with loud cheers and jeers after Emily Van Egmond — who started in place of the injured Mary Fowler — cooly slotted in a crisp cross from Caitlin Foord to put the Matildas ahead in what was a pacy and highly tactical game. Those cheers quickly shriveled into a deafening silence after an unmarked Uchenna Kanu buried her chance to level the playing field for the Super Falcons of Nigeria.
Last time the two sides faced each other was in the 2011 World Cup in Germany, and it turned out to be a Kyah Pam Simon showdown after she scored a brace against Nigeria.
Into both team’s strategies
The Nigerians entered this game with the mindset to “control the game, be much more clinical offensively,” as head coach Randy Waldrum said in their pre-game presser. Defensively, they wanted to avoid conceding goals and the focal objective was to get all three points.
Both teams entered the game with a robust offensive strategy with both coaches going with the 4-1-2-3 approach. In the…
